Another elderly Walmart employee has had their life completely changed after TikTokers raised over $100,000 so that they could retire.
Butch Marion, 82, has been able to quit his job as a cashier at the retailer in Cumberland, Md. thanks to the efforts of creator Rory McCarthy, who posted a video of the worker on Dec. 17, asking his followers to help. McCarthys video received over 3.3 million views.
Marion, a widower and U.S. Navy veteran, said in further videos that he had been working since he was 11-years old and had spent 10 years in the Navy.
The donations rolled in at an incredible pace through a GoFundMe page set up by McCarthy, with donors expressing how inspired they had been by Marions story. At the time of writing, the page has raised $123,995; it reportedly received over $50,000 in the first 24 hours.
While McCarthy originally built popularity online by sharing clips of his life running a bug extermination company, he was keen to use his platform for a good cause.
On his GoFundMe page, McCarthy explained, I wanted to help this navy veteran to live the remainder of his years traveling to see his kids in Florida Get him off his feet for 8 hrs at a time. And do the things he would love to do that he may not be able to for financial reasons.
As a business owner and knowing how hard its been to try to find good help for my business I was astounded seeing this little older man still grinding working 8 to 9 hour shifts, McCarthy said.
In a clip published by Fox 5 Washington D.C., Marion was seen leaving the store on his final day, holding balloons amid a crowd of cheering onlookers in the parking lot and then receiving a check from McCarthy.
Marion has said hed like to use the money to go to Florida and see my kids, and enjoy my last 10 or 12 years Ive got.
#TikTokWalmartRetiree
Marion is now the third Walmart employee to have received life-changing donations from social media users in recent months in what is quickly becoming a trendit even has its own hashtag: #TikTokWalmartRetiree.
Just before Christmas, 82-year-old Carmen Kelly from Arizona went viral after she was filmed by shopper Elizabeth Rizzo, who spotted her pushing through her Walmart shift despite having to use a cane while she worked, unable to sit down per the retailers employee rules.
Kellys reportedly had only $50 in her bank account at the time Rizzo filmed her and had been struggling to pay her medical bills. TikTokers raised over $135,000 so she no longer had to struggle.
Prior to Kelly, a video of 81-year-old Walmart employee Nola was posted to TikTok on Nov. 3 by Devan Bonagura, who also set up a GoFundMe page. The original clip had over 30 million views and generous strangers raised a total of $186,318 for the worker.
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